Security company NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec) today agreed to acquire German security company Avira by Bahrain-based Investcorp Technology Partners in a $ 360 million deal.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals, the companies said today two companies in one joint press release.
Avira CEO Travis Witteveen and CTO Matthias Ollig will join the leadership team of NortonLifeLock upon completion of the agreement.
NortonLifeLock hopes that today's acquisition will accelerate its international expansion into markets that currently have a small presence.
Avira has a very strong user base in the EU. The company is known for its freemium business model, through which it provides free software security to users from all over the world.
Avira free software is installed on more than 30 million devices and the company has more than 1,5 million customers paying for a premium version.
Avira was founded in 1986 in Germany by Tjark Auerbach, and at its peak in 2012, had installed more than 100 million devices in its software.
Auerbach sold Avira to Investcorp in April 2020 for $ 180 million.
NortonLifeLock was founded in November 2019, when the Broadcom bought security firm Symantec for $10,7 billion.